Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (1818-1848) once considered the best novel in the English language has it fair share of suffering and death and in addition opens with a haunting and ends with two ghosts happily moving away. (...) "By the time Wuthering Heights is over, the moor is littered with the bodies of characters who have perished of mismanaged ardor, with scarcely a housekeeper left to tell the tale," and as I mentioned, spirits and ghosties cavorting at night.
The next most famous novel to be considered is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855), first titled Jane Eyre: an autobiography. In it, though death is absent other social maladies are present.Brontë proves another point in Victorian novels: the death of parents could open the door to poverty, neglect and abuse or — a happier plot point — inheritance.

But if boredom is kept at bay – and it’s often a close-run thing – that is largely because of acting and production. The stand-out performance comes from Erin Doherty who, as Soween, narrates much of the story. In her black bonnet and gown – standard gear for these isolated women – she looks like a devout member of the Amish sect: what is astonishing, however, is her ability to convey Soween’s mix of sweetness, sadness and surprised delight at discovering the proscribed Jane Eyre, the heroine of which she decides she resembles. It is Doherty, both earnest and touching, who holds the show together. (Michaael Billington)

“Consolation is one of the lesser pleasures, but it’s not nothing. Isn’t that why we read? I remember reading Jane Eyre as a schoolboy and loving that I wasn’t the only child who felt alienated and desperate. It’s one of the indubitable pleasures of reading so it has to be one of the aims of satire – to cheer up those who feel as you feel.”

Though draped in the finest Parisian fashions, Ruttie was a rebel at heart. Political activism in this exciting time was one of the reasons she chose to be by Jinnah’s side. What else could be expected from a well-read lady who counted among her influences Emile Pankhurst (a firebrand British feminist of her times), Oscar Wilde and the Brontë sisters. (Raheel Shakeel)

Another important aspect is the fact that adaptation has become the norm. Even "Atomic Blonde" has a predecessor in that it was cribbed off of a graphic novel series. There are of course well-loved classical novel adaptations, such as "Jane Eyre" or "The Great Gatsby." It is of great interest to see how a story in print has been interpreted and re-presented to a movie-going audience. Sometimes that can be wildly creative -- I'm thinking of "O Brother, Where Art Thou" as it vamps on Homer's "The Odyssey." (Scott Vander)

I live in Denholme, on the outskirts of Bradford. It’s Brontë country, with the Pennines on my doorstep. I’ve been a fell walker since I was about 13 or 14, going on loads of school trips, in the days when schools were allowed to do that sort of thing, to the Lake District, North Wales and so on. I’m 60 now, and I’m still permanently drawn to mountains — I’ll probably go for a walk on the moors this afternoon. (Ian Whittaker spoke to Martin Hemming)